(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with a shoe upper conforming machine for use in lasting side portions of shoe uppers. The term "shoe" where used herein is used generically as indicating articles of outer footwear generally including such articles in the course of manufacture.
(2) Prior Art
It has recently been proposed to provide a shoe upper conforming machine for use in lasting side portions of shoe uppers comprising a support for a shoe last on which an upper, the side portions of which are to be lasted, and an insole are positioned, and two side lasting assemblies arranged so as to act on opposite side portions of an upper positioned on a last supported by said support, wherein each side lasting assembly comprises clamping means, comprising at least one clamp member, movable towards the last support to cause a side portion of the upper to be held against the last, on which it is positioned and which is supported by the last support, at a locality spaced from the featherline thereof, and lasting band means comprising at least one upper-engaging band portion of flexible sheet material arranged to be interposed between the shoe upper and the clamp member(s), and further wherein the or each upper-engaging band portion is held by the clamp member(s), in the operation of the machine, against the upper positioned on its last under a pressure which does not prevent movement of the upper-engaging band portion(s) relative to the clamp member(s) but which is sufficient to cause such movement of said portions(s) to apply a drafting force to the portion of the upper engaged thereby, the arrangement being such that, in the operation of the machine, movement of the upper-engaging band portion(s) is caused to take place relative to the clamp member(s) whereby a drafting force is applied to the upper by said portion(s) heightwise of the last in the direction of the featherline of the shoe, and lasting marginal portions of the side portion of the upper are caused to be wiped over corresponding marginal portions of the insole and be pressed thereagainst. In this way, a controlled drafting force can be applied to the upper through the upper-engaging band portion(s) the control being specifically achieved by the action of the clamp member(s) acting on the band portion(s).
The locality of the last at which the or each clamp member is caused to press the side portion of the upper may be relatively flat, so that no difficulty arises in applying adequate pressure to the lasting band(s) by the clamp member(s). Where, however, the last in said locality has a significant lengthwise contour, it has been found that, even though a plurality of independently operable clamp members may be used, the pressure applied thereby may be inadequate because the whole of the pressure-applying surface is not in contact with the band portion. This is especially the case where the lasting band means comprises a plurality of band portions arranged in pairs, each such pair being held in pressing engagement with the upper by one of the clamp members as aforesaid. This leads to inadequate drafting force being applied to the upper.
It is thus one of the various objects of the present invention to provide a side lasting machine in which the application of a controlled drafting force to the upper, using lasting band means pressed against the upper on its last by means of a plurality of clamp members, can be more reliably achieved.